Claudette Harris, 75, retired Philadelphia teacher

Claudette Elizabeth Harris, 75, a retired teacher and classroom aide for the School District of Philadelphia, died Friday, June 19, of a blood infection at Kindred Hospital.

Ms. Harris was the youngest of 10 children of Ola Pearl Phillips-Wallace and Sylvester Wallace Sr. Her childhood experiences in South Philadelphia gave her two of what her family called her greatest gifts - cooking and educating others.

"She was literally the family cook," said State Rep. Jordan Harris, one of her two grandsons. "Growing up the way she grew up, you had to cook. [She] had to learn how to take care of her family.

Jordan Harris said he loved going to the Italian Market with his grandmother to help her buy food for Thanksgiving gatherings. Family and neighborhood cookouts would draw 40 to 50 people with classic soul food, including fried chicken, collard greens, candied hams, and macaroni and cheese. Harris said these meals would feed his cousins, friends, and neighbors for several days.

Darlene M. Rice was Ms. Harris' neighbor for 60 years. "We always collected when people died or got sick or something on the block," she recalled.

Ms. Harris was born and reared in South Philadelphia. She married Emmett Harris in 1958 and they had three children. She began teaching as a classroom aide for the School District in the 1960s.

She enrolled at Community College of Philadelphia and graduated in 1973. She finished Temple University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in education and taught at elementary schools in the district for 32 years, ending her career in 1998 at Vera School.

One of her former students there - Russell Walker, 34, a security guard at St. Joseph's University - recalled her teaching him with a strong-handed, grandmotherly approach, and helped him when he had trouble reading.

"To this day I credit her with my love for reading and love for learning," said Walker. "She influenced me as much as my parents."

In addition to her grandson, she is survived by children Karen, Brian and Robert; another grandson, Matthew Wright; and four siblings.

A viewing is to be Saturday at 9 a.m., with a funeral service following at 10, at Yesha Ministries Worship Center, 2301 Snyder Ave.

215-854-2714

@saraiaflores